1
as in to pretend
to present a false appearance of
he dissembled happiness at the news that his old girlfriend was getting married—to someone else
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to dissimulate
to take on a false or deceptive appearance
children learn to dissemble at a surprisingly early age
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dissemble
Authorities were forced to dissemble the back deck in order to rescue some of the pups that were beneath, according to the Strong Island Animal Rescue League, who assisted with the efforts.
—
David Matthews, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2025
Building trust in companies and their leaders isn’t easy, given many decades of dissembling.
—Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 6 July 2025
You’d like your government to tell you the truth, and the government dissembled repeatedly after the raid about what the rules of engagement were.
—Aryeh Neier, The New York Review of Books, 3 Mar. 2025
Pushing back on reporters, at the time Scher often dissembled and appeared to brush aside concerns about what was clearly an increasingly out-of-control situation.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 19 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for dissemble
David Matthews, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2025
Building trust in companies and their leaders isn’t easy, given many decades of dissembling.
—Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 6 July 2025
You’d like your government to tell you the truth, and the government dissembled repeatedly after the raid about what the rules of engagement were.
—Aryeh Neier, The New York Review of Books, 3 Mar. 2025
Pushing back on reporters, at the time Scher often dissembled and appeared to brush aside concerns about what was clearly an increasingly out-of-control situation.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 19 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for dissemble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissemble
Verb
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Because good ex-etiquette isn’t about pretending the past didn’t happen.—
Jann Blackstone,
Boston Herald,
26 Apr. 2026
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At this point, the NFL is not even pretending the draft is about the handful of prospects sitting in the green room.—
Dan Zaksheske OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Many assume its American branch is a similar money pit.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2026
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So our guys moved up, assuming it was not caught.—
Lou Ponsi,
Oc Register,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Chernobyl disaster occurred when technicians at the power station, near Pripyat in the north of Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, ran a test on reactor number four to simulate shutting it down during an electricity blackout.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
26 Apr. 2026
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To simulate Antarctica’s brutally cold temperatures, Khare trained inside a storage freezer set to 5 degrees Fahrenheit in downtown Los Angeles, running on a treadmill while dialing in every detail.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dissemble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissemble. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.
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